11 STATES OF PLAY

11.1 BALL IN PLAY
The rally begins with the referee’s whistle. However,
the ball is in play from the service hit.
11.2 BALL OUT OF PLAY
The rally ends with the referee’s whistle. However,
if the whistle is due to a fault made in play, the
ball is out of play from the moment the fault was
committed (Rule 12.2.2).
11.3 BALL “IN”
The ball is “in” when it touches the ground of the
playing court including the boundary lines (Rule 1.3).
11.4 BALL “OUT”
The ball is “out” when it:
a) falls on the ground completely outside the boundary lines (without touching them);
b) touches an object outside the court, the ceiling or a person out of play;
c) touches the antennae, ropes, posts or the net itself outside the side bands and antennae;
d) crosses completely the vertical plane of the net, totally or even partly outside the
crossing space during service (Rule 14.1.3, Diagram 3) or the third hit of the team.